What Happened? (UFC 212: Aldo vs. Halloway

Another great night of fights have ended when the UFC Featherweight Champion faced off against the UFC Interim Featherweight Champion in a title unification bout Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Now it is time to break down the fights and explain what happened in “Cidade Maravilhosa” at UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway:

This fight started off great for Erick Silva as he was able to go toe-to-toe on the feet with Yancy Medeiros without problem. However, in the second round, although it started off well for him, Silva got caught with a perfectly timed hook from Medeiros that resulted in a knockdown. Medeiros followed it up with some ground and pound and, although Silva seemed like he was going to survive the onslaught by rolling, the referee stopped the contest a bit prematurely. I would have loved to see if Silva would have bounced back had the referee let the fight go on a little longer. In the end Medeiros got the knockout win like I predicted in the second round and I’m happy to see how he progresses as a fighter after this performance. Winner: Yancy Medeiros via Knockout/Technical Knockout in Round 2

This fight surprisingly did not end in the first round where both guys have had all of their victories in. The first round saw Oluwale Bamgbose leading the charge as he rushed Paulo Borrachinha a number of times with a flurry of strikes. This did not get him the early win like he had hoped for but instead caused him to gas early on. By the end of the first round Bamgbose was breathing heavy. Borrahinha began to lead the striking exchanges in the second round with “Holy War Angel” having to throw some very unusual strikes such as standing hammerfists to even hit his opponent. Bamgbose then threw a lazy kick, as he has been doing the entire fight, that resulted in a slip with which Borrachinha capitalized on by ground and pounding him into a TKO victory. Winner: Paulo Borrachinha via Knockout/Technical Knockout in Round 2

Here was a surprising performance by Vitor Belfort against Nate Marquardt. He was passive throughout all three rounds, only rushing after Marquardt two or three times. “The Great” was able to land a takedown in the first with which he was not able to capitalize on. Marquardt was able to land more strikes and significant strikes in each of the three rounds but was not able to get the decision due to “The Phenom” fighting in his home country. the crowd may have helped him get that win as they were cheering every one of his striked that lande no matter how hard it hit. I’m curious to see if Belfort retires or not after this fight seeing how he barely won this fight. Winner: Vitor Belfort via Decision

This one I did not see coming. I thought this was going to drag out into deep waters and push these two girls to the limit. But Claudia Gadelha had plans of celebrating tonight and wanted to get this fight over with quickly. She was able to take Karolina Kowalkiewicz down and then lock in the rear naked choke for the victory in the first round. Gadelha has definitely solidified her position as the second best strawweight in the UFC but I’m sure she would like to become the number one best in the division. As for Kowalkiewicz, I do hope she comes back with a better takedown defense and possibly ground game after this because this was a harsh lesson as to how grappler vs. striker contests go down. Winner: Claudia Gadelha via Submission in Round 1

This fight showed great performances by both fighters. José Aldo took over the first two rounds with his speed and his ability to strike from all angles. Max Holloway seemed a bit stiff in the first round but loosened up in the second, even taunting Aldo a bit. Then in the third round Holloway was able to land a beautiful one two combo twice in quick succession on Aldo that dropped the “King of Rio.” Holloway unleashed ground and pound for almost two minutes during which Aldo was trying to survive but any means necessary. It was surprising by how much he was able to survive until he was mounted on his back. Aldo was unable to escape and the fight was ultimately stopped. Both men really needed this win but Holloway was the sole winner of this contest. Many have since been bashing and disrespecting Aldo because of this. I, and Holloway, still see Aldo as the featherweight GOAT regardless of his last two losses. Even Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, and Georges St-Pierre all have suffered defeat. We are now in the “Blessed Era” in the featherweight division and Holloway is accepting all challengers. After this performance, I’m curious to see who will dethrone him (if any) as the undisputed king of featherweights. Winner: Max Holloway via Knockout/Technical Knockout in Round 3